Supervisors with employees who work during winter break should track hours using the Winter Break Hours Tracking spreadsheet. Please follow the instructions provided and contact your Human Resources consultant with any questions.
Now that you know what you should and shouldn’t include, how do you go about crafting the perfect out-of-office vacation message?
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Because I used to get phone calls that defaulted to, “I need the director”, I had my out of office mail set to:
Q. Will students who stay on campus during winter break be impacted by this change?
Otherwise, a referral to your company’s general contact email or a simple ‘I’ll respond when I get back, stop bugging me’ should do the trick.
Vacation Tracker helped me book some days off, so you will not be able to reach me until *date*! I will be busy surfing the waves in Portugal/ climbing Kilimanjaro/ taking pictures on the Great Wall of China/ exploring wildlife in Tanzania.
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The office is closed today for the Public Holiday. We will resume normal office hours from tomorrow morning. Enjoy your day off!
I have a colleague that does this with their voicemail. Almost always forgets to change the message once they’re back in so if you call, say, on Thursday, June 3, and you get their voicemail, you will hear how the person is out of the office from May 24 to 26 and who to call while the person is away.
Over time I’ve pared my OOO messages down more and more to the absolutely essential. The main issue was whether to use first or third person. Either is fine, but it comes up because it’s nice to have the name of the OOO person in front of one’s eyes if one sends a lot of email and then finds stray OOO messages among the mail … “hmm, what was THIS one in response to…?”. – “I am absent the office today and will attend to your message by Monday, August 17.” – “I am traveling during the week of Monday, July 1 and may be unable to respond to your message immediately. For issues concerning the [operational project in remote area], please contact [co-worker]” – “Tamarack Fireweed is on leave from [date] to [date] with reduced access to email. Urgent messages can be routed as follows: For project X, please contact [person1]. For project Y please contact [person2]. For questions about [academic program] please write to [general alias]. “
When you share transparent business information and provide alternative ways when the relevant channel is not available, it delivers a delightful service experience.
Yup. That’s almost verbatim what I do. It’s the standard around here and now I’m grateful for that!
Yeah, that’s all I need to know when I’m trying to contact someone who’s out. 1) When you’re coming back so I know if my issue can wait, and 2) Where to go if I decide that it can’t.
I am off for the week on a beach, proving myself that science is right when it says sharks attacks are rare. I will be safe to get back to you but your email may get swallowed by my inbox. Please add all finished lists on the board as you can see John if you have any questions. If it’s urgent send to [email protected] and if you are just bored, here are some facts to know,
Interesting! I’d be unpleasantly surprised and tempted to scold them for not taking a proper break.
Q. Who should notify contractors, vendors and other individuals who work with various University departments that their services may not be needed during winter break?